Published: Thursday, January 24, 2008 at 7:22 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, January 24, 2008 at 7:22 a.m.

OCALA - Marion County sheriff's detectives arrested a 22-year-old man Wednesday night and charged him with felony first-degree murder in connection with the death of his 5½-month-old cousin, Sanjana Muthra, whom he was baby-sitting.

Rishi Abraham Ramgoolie, a manager at Angels of America, was taken into custody after telling Inspector Mike Mongeluzzo different stories about how Sanjana died, according to a Sheriff's Office report.

Doctors said the baby had multiple skull fractures indicating she had been struck more than once.

At a court appearance via video Thursday morning, Ramgoolie said his family intends to hire a private attorney. His mother, Jenny Ramgoolie, was also at the hearing. Marion County Judge John Futch denied bail.

In an interview before he was taken to his cell, Rishi Ramgoolie called the charge "unbelievable."

"I didn't do anything," he said.

On Monday around 8:21 p.m., Deputy Todd Winkler went to 40 Redwood Run in Silver Springs Shores in response to a report of an unresponsive infant, according to the Sheriff's Office.

At the home, Rishi Ramgoolie, who was watching the baby while her mother went to get something to eat, told the deputy that little Sanjana was sitting on his stomach when she spit out her pacifier and he noticed blood on it. He then told Winkler that he lifted up his cousin and placed her on his shoulder and that she vomited a large amount of blood and stopped breathing.

Ramgoolie said he tried calling the Sanjana's mother on her cell phone but didn't get an answer and called 911.

When Winkler first arrived, he said he saw Ramgoolie performing CPR on Sanjana, who was not breathing. The deputy then performed CPR. The child's mother arrived, followed by the paramedics and the little girl was rushed to Munroe Regional Medical Center.

At the Ocala hospital, Ramgoolie reportedly told Winkler that on Jan. 17, Sanjana was taken to Munroe Regional because she fell out of bed and hit her head on the dresser. He claimed the hospital didn't perform a CT scan on the child and only diagnosed her with upper respiratory infection. He claimed that, after the incident, the child had been vomiting but that it wasn't blood.

On Monday, tests showed that Sanjana had a fractured skull, according to the Sheriff's Office. A doctor told Inspector Mongeluzzo that the child had a fracture on the left side of her skull and there was bleeding on her brain. The doctor also told the inspector that he didn't think the fracture occurred the first time the child was brought to the hospital.

The doctor who had examined Sanjana the first time she was brought to Munroe Regional told Mongeluzzo they didn't do a CT scan because the child did not show any signs of having a fractured skull, according to the Sheriff's Office report. He also noted that the child's latest injury was new.

Sanjana's mother - Romayne Grant-Muthra, who, according to the report, is a registered nurse - told Mongeluzzo that on Jan. 16 she left her daughter in the care of Ramgoolie, who had been staying with her for about a week.

When she came home, he reportedly told her Sanjana had fallen out of bed. The mother said she examined Sanjana and noticed she could not focus her eyes, which concerned her, so she took her to the hospital. The doctor diagnosed Sanjana with an upper respiratory infection, and the mother stayed home from work from Thursday through Monday because Sanjana was sick.

She told Mongeluzzo that, while she was at home, the baby didn't show any signs of head trauma and was recuperating from the upper respiratory infection.

On Monday, after Sanjana had been rushed to Munroe Regional, she was transported to the Pediatric Critical Care Unit at Shands at the University of Florida in Gainesville due to the severity of her injury.

Mongeluzzo took Ramgoolie to the Sheriff's Office for an interview Tuesday.

He told the inspector that in the first incident last week Sanjana, who was surrounded by pillows, was in the bed in the master bedroom with him and he fell asleep. When he woke up, he said Sanjana was lying on the floor and her head was propped against a dresser.

He reportedly said he didn't know if the child had hit her head on the dresser and she appeared to be fine from the fall.

During the interview, the inspector asked Ramgoolie if he had hurt the child, and he answered no. Ramgoolie agreed to take Mongeluzzo to the home so the inspector could conduct a more detailed investigation. Mongeluzzo also got the mother's permission.

Inspecting the master bedroom, he didn't see any blood stain or indentation on the night-stand or the carpet next to the bed.

He then spoke with a doctor at Shands, who told him Sanjana had a skull fracture. At about 11 a.m. Tuesday, while Mongeluzzo was at Shands, she was pronounced dead.

An autopsy at the Medical Examiner's Office in Leesburg found hemorrhaging and multiple fractures to the rear and sides of her skull. A doctor told Mongeluzzo that the trauma could not have been caused by the baby falling out of the bed. The multiple fractures showed the child's skull had been struck more than once.

Mongeluzzo called Ramgoolie in for another round of questioning.

At first, he denied doing anything, according to the Sheriff's Office. Presented with the evidence, Ramgoolie reportedly changed his story and told the inspector he dropped Sanjana on the carpet after he tripped over the coffee table.

Mongeluzzo told him the evidence didn't support that statement, but this time Ramgoolie stuck to his story. He was arrested and taken to the Marion County Jail.

On Thursday, Ramgoolie said he had changed his story with Mongeluzzo to "tell them the truth - that I tripped." It was unclear when the tripping incident allegedly occurred.

Ramgoolie insisted Sanjana was vomiting all weekend, sick, nauseous and not normal after she was first transported to Munroe Regional.

"I believe it came from the first fall. I believe if the doctors had checked the child, this wouldn't have happened," Ramgoolie said. "The baby did fall off the bed because she was on the bed when he went to sleep," he said, "and when I woke up she was off the bed."

He said he was "not aggressive to the child."

Ramgoolie, who is from Trinidad, said Thursday that he was supposed to attend a religious ceremony back home for a deceased relative who died on Tuesday. Sheriff's officials said he had planned to leave for Trinidad on Thursday.

Austin L. Miller can be reached at austin.miller@starbanner.com or 352-867-4118.

<p>OCALA - Marion County sheriff's detectives arrested a 22-year-old man Wednesday night and charged him with felony first-degree murder in connection with the death of his 5½-month-old cousin, Sanjana Muthra, whom he was baby-sitting.</p><p> Rishi Abraham Ramgoolie, a manager at Angels of America, was taken into custody after telling Inspector Mike Mongeluzzo different stories about how Sanjana died, according to a Sheriff's Office report.</p><p> Doctors said the baby had multiple skull fractures indicating she had been struck more than once.</p><p>At a court appearance via video Thursday morning, Ramgoolie said his family intends to hire a private attorney. His mother, Jenny Ramgoolie, was also at the hearing. Marion County Judge John Futch denied bail.</p><p> In an interview before he was taken to his cell, Rishi Ramgoolie called the charge "unbelievable."</p><p> "I didn't do anything," he said.</p><p> On Monday around 8:21 p.m., Deputy Todd Winkler went to 40 Redwood Run in Silver Springs Shores in response to a report of an unresponsive infant, according to the Sheriff's Office.</p><p> At the home, Rishi Ramgoolie, who was watching the baby while her mother went to get something to eat, told the deputy that little Sanjana was sitting on his stomach when she spit out her pacifier and he noticed blood on it. He then told Winkler that he lifted up his cousin and placed her on his shoulder and that she vomited a large amount of blood and stopped breathing.</p><p> Ramgoolie said he tried calling the Sanjana's mother on her cell phone but didn't get an answer and called 911.</p><p> When Winkler first arrived, he said he saw Ramgoolie performing CPR on Sanjana, who was not breathing. The deputy then performed CPR. The child's mother arrived, followed by the paramedics and the little girl was rushed to Munroe Regional Medical Center.</p><p> At the Ocala hospital, Ramgoolie reportedly told Winkler that on Jan. 17, Sanjana was taken to Munroe Regional because she fell out of bed and hit her head on the dresser. He claimed the hospital didn't perform a CT scan on the child and only diagnosed her with upper respiratory infection. He claimed that, after the incident, the child had been vomiting but that it wasn't blood.</p><p> On Monday, tests showed that Sanjana had a fractured skull, according to the Sheriff's Office. A doctor told Inspector Mongeluzzo that the child had a fracture on the left side of her skull and there was bleeding on her brain. The doctor also told the inspector that he didn't think the fracture occurred the first time the child was brought to the hospital.</p><p> The doctor who had examined Sanjana the first time she was brought to Munroe Regional told Mongeluzzo they didn't do a CT scan because the child did not show any signs of having a fractured skull, according to the Sheriff's Office report. He also noted that the child's latest injury was new.</p><p> Sanjana's mother - Romayne Grant-Muthra, who, according to the report, is a registered nurse - told Mongeluzzo that on Jan. 16 she left her daughter in the care of Ramgoolie, who had been staying with her for about a week.</p><p> When she came home, he reportedly told her Sanjana had fallen out of bed. The mother said she examined Sanjana and noticed she could not focus her eyes, which concerned her, so she took her to the hospital. The doctor diagnosed Sanjana with an upper respiratory infection, and the mother stayed home from work from Thursday through Monday because Sanjana was sick.</p><p> She told Mongeluzzo that, while she was at home, the baby didn't show any signs of head trauma and was recuperating from the upper respiratory infection.</p><p> On Monday, after Sanjana had been rushed to Munroe Regional, she was transported to the Pediatric Critical Care Unit at Shands at the University of Florida in Gainesville due to the severity of her injury.</p><p> Mongeluzzo took Ramgoolie to the Sheriff's Office for an interview Tuesday.</p><p> He told the inspector that in the first incident last week Sanjana, who was surrounded by pillows, was in the bed in the master bedroom with him and he fell asleep. When he woke up, he said Sanjana was lying on the floor and her head was propped against a dresser.</p><p> He reportedly said he didn't know if the child had hit her head on the dresser and she appeared to be fine from the fall.</p><p> During the interview, the inspector asked Ramgoolie if he had hurt the child, and he answered no. Ramgoolie agreed to take Mongeluzzo to the home so the inspector could conduct a more detailed investigation. Mongeluzzo also got the mother's permission.</p><p> Inspecting the master bedroom, he didn't see any blood stain or indentation on the night-stand or the carpet next to the bed.</p><p> He then spoke with a doctor at Shands, who told him Sanjana had a skull fracture. At about 11 a.m. Tuesday, while Mongeluzzo was at Shands, she was pronounced dead. </p><p> An autopsy at the Medical Examiner's Office in Leesburg found hemorrhaging and multiple fractures to the rear and sides of her skull. A doctor told Mongeluzzo that the trauma could not have been caused by the baby falling out of the bed. The multiple fractures showed the child's skull had been struck more than once.</p><p> Mongeluzzo called Ramgoolie in for another round of questioning.</p><p> At first, he denied doing anything, according to the Sheriff's Office. Presented with the evidence, Ramgoolie reportedly changed his story and told the inspector he dropped Sanjana on the carpet after he tripped over the coffee table.</p><p>Mongeluzzo told him the evidence didn't support that statement, but this time Ramgoolie stuck to his story. He was arrested and taken to the Marion County Jail.</p><p>On Thursday, Ramgoolie said he had changed his story with Mongeluzzo to "tell them the truth - that I tripped." It was unclear when the tripping incident allegedly occurred.</p><p> Ramgoolie insisted Sanjana was vomiting all weekend, sick, nauseous and not normal after she was first transported to Munroe Regional.</p><p> "I believe it came from the first fall. I believe if the doctors had checked the child, this wouldn't have happened," Ramgoolie said. "The baby did fall off the bed because she was on the bed when he went to sleep," he said, "and when I woke up she was off the bed."</p><p> He said he was "not aggressive to the child."</p><p> Ramgoolie, who is from Trinidad, said Thursday that he was supposed to attend a religious ceremony back home for a deceased relative who died on Tuesday. Sheriff's officials said he had planned to leave for Trinidad on Thursday.</p><p><i>Austin L. Miller can be reached at austin.miller@starbanner.com or 352-867-4118.</i></p>